Kuchik Khan - Early Life

Early Life

Kuchak Khan was born Younes, son of Mirza "Bozorg" (the Persian equivalent of "Sr"), and was thus nicknamed Mirza "Kuchak" (the Persian equivalent of "Jr"), in the city of Rasht in northern Iran in 1880. He studied theology (as the only available formal education at the time) to become a cleric at Jame Rasht in Rasht and later at Mahmudiyeh schools in Tehran. On the eve of the Iranian constitutional revolution as all the intelligentsia and ordinary people became more involved in politics, Mirza quit his studies to join the movement. Finally in an Imperial decree the Shah of Iran Muzaffar al-Din Shah agreed to a constitutional monarchy in August 1906.

However, the ruling feudalistic society was not ready to give up on its privileges and respect the newly elected Parliament (Majlis). In June 1908 the parliament was shut down during a coup d'état ordered by the new monarch, Mohammad Ali Shah. The Russian Cossack Brigade under the command of Colonel Liakhov serving the Shah bombarded the parliament and arrested pro-democracy leaders, activists, journalists, and members of Parliament. Uprisings all over the country followed in particular in Tabriz, Ardabil and Rasht. During the Tabriz uprising Kuchak Khan tried to join Sattar Khan & Haj Baba Khan-e- Ardabili's forces, but was unable to actively participate due to an illness. He was injured in the Constitutionalist war, and had to travel to Baku and Tbilisi for medical attention.

After going through a period of renewed and bloody dictatorship nicknamed the Short Dictatorship (or Lesser Autocracy), in July 1909 the national revolutionary forces from Gilan and central Iran (Bakhtiari tribes) were united to attack and conquer the capital Tehran. Mirza Kuchak Khan was one of the lower rank commanders of the force that invaded the capital from North (under the command of Sepahdar Aazam Mohammad Vali Khan Tonekaboni).